Spoke with a friend of mine (LEO), who was part of this mess. There were many officers from multiple jurisdictions, across two large counties (Miami-Dade where the armed robbery and shootout began, and Broward where the chase ended in gunfire). The chase went on for an extended time, with the perps shooting at both officers and civvies along the way. His estimation is that there were over 75 cars from many jurisdictions involved, all trying to communicate with each other and with dispatchers. Some officers were up to date with info, others were not.
When the UPS truck got stopped in traffic, both perps began firing indiscriminately, with one apparently using the hostage UPS driver as cover. From my friend’s view, it appeared that one of the perps shot the hostage UPS driver after he attempted to use him as a shield to exit the passenger side of the truck, while firing at police. It was at that point that everyone opened up on the perps as the hostage had been hit and was trying to crawl out of the truck. The perp, who was also hit, collapsed on top of the hostage and both appeared to be hit a number of times after that, which can be seen in the videos as well.
My friend did not fire his weapon, and said it was absolute chaos. He also said that he was certain if these guys were not stopped, they would have certainly shot more people, or taken another hostage if they attempted to carjack another vehicle (they had previously carjacked a uhaul truck, and then the UPS truck).
I feel terrible for the UPS driver and motorist who lost their lives(along with their families), and for the officers who fired and who are aware that they may have hit those two civvies. Not sad that the dirtbag jewelry store robbers are dead as we have too many of those types down here already. Either way, it’s going to be a long road for everyone here.
Last edited by Capt_Craig; 12/05/19.
